The Rain Woman's Blue Skies
by Clarixe
Summary: It was nothing for Gray Fullbuster yet it was everything for Juvia Lockser. This is how certain words from an ice mage made the water mage feel better despite her wanting to be disassociated with rain. [a Gruvia one-shot]


**The Rain Woman's Blue Skies**

It was the third day of rain. Even though it was already noon, the dark skies hovered above Magnolia with an atmosphere of an evening.

Some of the guild members of Fairy Tail were inside the pub. Lucy was talking to Mirajane at the counter while Cana was finishing her fifth barrel of beer. Wendy and Romeo were playing a certain board game along with the Exceeds on a table. On a different table, Levy was reading an ancient script. Gajeel was watching at the book the script mage was reading, or was he looking at the solid script mage himself?

Nab was looking intently at the guild's job request board silently.

Macao said, "Nab, stop looking at the board and pick one already."

"But," Nab shyly answered, "it is hard to find a job with this kind of weather."

"Just pick one already," Wakaba pursued, "you haven't chosen a request for ages, regardless of the weather."

Nab continued to look at the requests on the board. The two, Macao and Wakaba, realizing that it was already a hopeless case, sighed and proceeded to a near table to continue their drinking.

"Flamebrain."

"Dimwit."

Those were familiar voices. Almost all the guild members looked at the direction of where the voices came from, except for Levy whose eyes were glued to the book.

The two ability-type mages were about to start a brawl as they entered the building. Natsu already produced a fire on his hand while Gray was about to cast a creation. Lucy ran in between them and asked, "what happened to both of you?"

"We were about to finish this quest," Gray narrated angrily, his hands ready to summon an ice creation, "but that half-brained mage almost killed the one who requested the job."

"It was you who did it, dimwit," Natsu retaliated, "I just helped you."

"No, I was the one who helped you," Gray answered back, "this is why I prefer to do quests alone."

"Stop it, guys," Lucy yelled at the two of them.

"I do not see Erza around, flamepussy," Gray said after looking around the pub, "She's just the reason why I'm being nice around that half-brained flamethrower."

Natsu laughed, "I could easily beat you even though Erza's –"

"Pervert!" Lucy shouted as she covered her eyes with both of her hands. She was referring to Gray's stripping habit. The ice mage had already stripped his shirt. The only item left on him was his khaki shorts.

"Natsu! Gray!"

A soft call was heard. It was Mirajane. The two ability-type mages looked at administrator who was already in a prune-colored aura.

"We cannot afford to have leaks on the roof today," Mirajane made an evil smile, "do you want me to use the two of you as blocks for the leaks?"

The two placed their arm on each other and shouted in chorus, "we're friends!"

Lucy sighed. It's not only Erza who can make the two behave. There are casual incidents that Mira can too, if ever she wanted to.

"Mira," Lucy called the S-Class-turned-administrator of the guild as she watched the entire guild fell for a lethargic state, "is there a storm?"

Mirajane shook her head and smiled while polishing several glass wares over the counter, "I think, it's just the weather."

Before Lucy could ask another question, Juvia Lockser enter the pub's premise.

The water mage was wearing her usual outfit – the dark blue coat covered with a darker shade of muffler. The trimmings around the muffler were white. Her thigh-high boots were wet. She was wearing a Russian hat over her well-curled cerulean hair. She folded her heart-designed pink umbrella.

"Juvia is very sorry," she shyly said as she placed her umbrella near the door and proceeded to an empty seat at the counter. She stared at the wet floor near the door.

"Oh, don't worry about that," Mirajane answered as she automatically gave the water mage a glass of juice. The take-over mage gave an evil look to the two other mages, Natsu and Gray, "it's already wet before you even entered."

The two immediately each took a mop and started cleaning the floor. Lucy just sighed and sat beside Juvia.

Lucy frowned; it was unusual for the water mage to sit silently while Gray's around, especially if the ice mage had already stripped.

"Juvia," she called.

Fiddling her fingers around her glass of juice, the water mage remained seated.

"Is there something wrong?"

The water mage answered, "Juvia doesn't know why her love rival is curious about her."

Lucy siged, "I am not your love rival."

Suddenly, Natsu appeared between Lucy and the water mage as he rejoiced, "Mira, we are done mopping the floor now!"

Mirajane smiled as she returned some of the glass wares on the countershelves, "Thank you, Natsu and Gray."

Natsu started looking at the guild request board while Gray planted himself beside Lucy. Mirajane instantly poured beer on a mug and gave it to the ice mage.

"Mirajane," Levy called as she put her book inside her bag and prepare her orange umbrella, "I think it's about time that I go back to Fairy Hill and continue reading."

"Maybe, I should accompany you," Gajeel said, in almost a whisper, before he stood up and followed the solid script mage closely.

"Luce, there is an easy job request," Natsu said aloud as he continued to stare at a piece of paper on the board, "maybe we should go on a quest."

"Oi, flamebrain, don't ruin another person's day," Gray laughed.

Lucy answered, "I am not actually into doing quests right now."

"Happy, are you up for a quest?" The fire dragon slayer, disregarding the ice mage's comment, asked the blue Exceed who was with the Wendy and the other Exceeds.

"Mira-san, Natsu, ano," Wendy approached the counter along with the three Exceeds, "Happy, Charle and I decided that we're going back to my place."

"Wendy has a heater in her room," Charle explained, "Lily will also come with us."

"Just be careful on your way," Mirajane answered as she watched the Exceeds and the sky dragon slayer, each of them carrying an umbrella, made their way out of the pub.

"Then, I guess, it will be just you and I, Luce," Natsu smiled at Lucy.

Lucy asked angrily, "who told you that I am up for a quest right now?"

Mirajane asked, "when is your rent due?"

Lucy's eyes widened, "tomorrow."

"Then we better hurry up and finish this quest," Natsu grinned as he took the piece of paper at the board and gave it immediately to the white-haired administrator. He took the celestial mage's hand and dragged her out of the bulding.

"Natsu," was all Luce mouthed. Her cheeks were a tint of red, "we don't even have an umbrella."

"We have," Natsu made an evil laugh before getting a pink umbrella near the door, "we have."

"That _baka,_" Gray sighed as he chugged down his last part of the beer.

Mirajane laughed a little then looked at the water mage who was still in a deep thinking. She asked, "Juvia, is something bothering you?"

Cana interrupted with a shout from the other table, "this weather is depressing!"

Juvia's mouth twitched.

Cana was already on her seventh barrel of beer. Her face was already red, "This is a reverse world wherein the daughter worries about her father! Shouldn't it be the other way around?"

Mirajane went outside the counter. Before approaching the table of the card mage, she passed by Gray and whispered something. Gray's eyes narrowed.

"Do it," the take-over mage, pinching Gray's side, finally said before going to Cana's table.

Gray watched the water mage at the corner of his left eye. Muttering something incomprehensible, the cerulean-haired woman remained still on her seat.

"Maybe, I should take you home, Cana," Mirajane laughed, "boys, help me."

The remaining boys moved from their places. Wakaba and Macao chugged down their last mugs and stood from their seats. Nab moved from the front of the board. The three of them approached Cana and lifted her.

Cana's last cry was "no! I'm not yet done!" This was before she was drop dead drunk on the floor of the guild's pub.

"Gray," Mirajane called. The ice mage's eyes followed the direction of the take-over mage's voice, "maybe you should close the pub."

The white-haired mage threw a set of keys to Gray before going out with a black umbrella. The ice creator managed to catch the keys mid-air with his left hand. He stood up and placed the keys on the counter table. He went inside the bar and got a refill of his beer.

"Do you want a refill of that," he asked the Juvia after seeing that her glass was already empty.

The water mage remained silent. Her mind seemed to be drifting somewhere else.

He cleared his throat and called his _nakama, _"oi, Juvia."

That was the time the water mage was able to hear her name. She looked at him then glanced around her. She noticed the absence of all the people. The only people left inside the guild pub were Gray and herself. She blushed lightly and asked, "Juvia wonders where the others are."

Gray explained the members' whereabouts and took a chug from his beer.

Juvia asked, "Aren't they angry at Juvia?"

Her voice was weak. Her eyes remained focus on her lap. Gray frowned; it was something he did not get. Before he could even answer, Juvia asked another question, "Is Gray-sama angry at Juvia?"

"I don't get it," Gray answered.

"Juvia Lockser is the rain woman," she continued, "_shin shin to."_

"Hey, I still don't get it," Gray continued to frown as he chugged parts of his beer.

Juvia bit her lower lip. It was something she does not want to recall anymore. It was a part of her past.

"_I wish Juvia wasn't coming with us," a childish voice from her past rang on her ears, "when she's around, it's always rainy and depressing."_

Disassociation with rain – it was something she longed for, ever since childhood.

"_It gets depressing when it rains,"_ another voice echoed inside her head.

"People would always say that rain is depressing and then blame Juvia for the weather," she muttered, loud enough to be heard by Gray, "Juvia would always cry."

"We never blamed you for the rain, Juvia," Gray answered as he took the empty glass from the water mage's hands. The instant contact made a weak electrical shock to Juvia; she blushed furiously as she fiddled her fingers.

"I'll be closing the pub," Gray said, "maybe you should go home too."

Juvia nodded as she continued to blush furiously. Just as she was walking towards the door, she stopped near it and looked around.

Gray took his shirt and wore it. He followed her closely and asked, "what are you looking for?"

"Juvia's umbrella is missing," she stuttered.

Gray looked at the place where he last saw the umbrella of the water mage. He recalled the flame dragon slayer's statement before he and the celestial mage went out.

Juvia peeked outside – the rain was still pouring hard. She took a step outside the door. Droplets of rain fell to her right boot. She took another step and the droplets of rain fell all over her clothes. The dark blue became much darker.

Gray also stepped outside the pub and locked the door behind them. He put the keys inside his pocket. The droplets of rain had changed his white shirt to a see-through.

"Gray-sama!" she exclaimed, "you will get wet."

Gray smirked, "I'll accompany you to Fairy Hills."

"Gray-sama, you don't have to."

"Mirajane," Gray stuttered, "she specifically told me to do this."

"Oh," Juvia sounded; it was disappointing as she thought that the ice maker accompanying her was completely Gray's decision.

She started to walk. A pregnant pause between the two of them occurred. Juvia walked slowly down the street as Gray followed her, few steps behind. Suddenly, the water mage sneezed.

"I supposed the rain woman is not immune to colds and fevers," Gray remarked as he walked faster until he was already walking beside the water mage. He placed both of his hands together and muttered, "ice make: shield."

A shield-like ice came out of his hand; the ice mage used it as an umbrella for the two of them.

Juvia almost fainted. It was something she was not expecting. She calmed herself down, thinking, "this is something Mirajane also instructed for him to do, Juvia guesses."

Once they reached the door of the dormitory, the ice shield disappeared out of Gray's hands.

He said, "I'll come by here tomorrow."

"Huh?"

"I think, you're about to have a cold," Gray muttered, "so I'm predicting that you'll have a bed rest for a week."

"Gray-sama doesn't have to do that," Juvia shrilled as she shook her head violently. She felt as if her heart was about to explode.

"I insist," he muttered. A tint of red can be seen from his cheeks. The rain had almost stopped. Few droplets fell gently from the sky. The two mages from Fairy Tail were soaked in water.

"Arigato, Gray-sama," she politely bowed her head.

Loosely raising his right hand as if waving, Gray turned his back to her and started walking away. But before he could even take another step, he stopped and said, "by the way, I don't mind the rain, Juvia."

He paused for a moment as if he was perfectly constructing his next statement. He followed, "in fact, I don't find it depressing at all."

"_Geez, the rain's so depressing_," an echo from Juvia's past hovered inside her mind. This time, it was Gray's. She remembered the first time the two of them met each other. He commented about how depressing the rain was during that time. She muttered, "Juvia did not understand."

"Huh?"

"Gray-sama told Juvia, the first time they met, that rain is depressing," she weakly elaborated as she started to walk.

"Then again, someone reminded me of something to look forward to after the rain," he answered. The skies were clearing up. Tinges of sun's rays peeked through the cloud, "seeing that girl's face for being able to encounter the blue skies for the first time – it was priceless."

Juvia's mouth created a small 'o' shape. Her eyes widened. It was something she did not expect to hear – not this time, not in this place and certainly not from a certain ice mage.

"Then again, that lady is crazy," he added with a laugh as he started walking away from the dormitory.

The water mage was left at the door of Fairy Hills dormitory. She was frozen like Evergreen's statue for a long period of time. She watched a certain raven-haired mage until the small figure of the ice mage from afar vanished from her sight.

Her blue skies may not always be there for her but she knows they are only behind the dark clouds of rain. Once the downpour was done, they will appear and brighten her up.

He is her blue skies.

**~~~~FIN~~~**


End file.
